Dr Babatope Ajakaiye, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Federal Capital Territory says journalism is a beggarly profession.
Ajakaiye made the remark at the 2016 Press Week of Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
“I am not proud to be a journalist. I want you to de-emphasis your membership of the NUJ which is optional, they are beggars’’, he emphasised.
The permanent secretary lampooned publishers that gave awards to politicians as a means of survival.
He said he had no regrets for not identifying with the profession throughout his career as Information Officer.
Ajakaiye warned information officers in the FCTA to distance themselves from journalists if they were preparing for leadership positions.
He called on the national leadership of NUJ to close down media organisations who failed to pay journalists.
“You are first, civil servants and information officers, and you must prepare for leadership. I look forward to the time when NUJ will fight newspaper publishers that do not pay salaries.
“I want to see the NUJ telling publishers who emphasise awards to make money, that this is not the practice of the profession’’, Ajakaiye said.
He described as unfortunate a situation where most journalists were not paid at the end of the month.
Malam Muhammad Bello, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), charged journalists to be change agents.
The minister called for synergy between government and the media, adding that the role of the media as a change agent cannot be over-emphasised.
He said such synergy was necessary to tackle most of the challenges of governance in the country.
He added that strong media advocacy was required to bring about cultural orientation amongst the people and the enthronement of the desired change.
